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TSR had such a hard time branding anything as Not D&D. As to a bad time, it's almost an understatement. Bad time = as the company is folding like a house of cards.

I have one Alternity book, the player's manual picked up at a used book store. I can't say I've looked at it in depth. At the time it came out I was short on cash and didn't have time for other game systems. I have seen they go fairly cheaply in the used market.

Garry AKA --Phoenix-- Rising above the Flames. My favorite game console is a table and chairs. The Olde Phoenix Inn

"On two occasions I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
- Charles Babbage (1791 - 1871)

Bit of a newbie rper here. I've only dabbled around with D&D, Unisystem, and FATE (In that order). Got to say, FATE offered by far the best role playing experience I've had so far. D&D felt like the dungeon crawlery wargame it was (which I think computers do better these days, yeah?). Then I played a game of AFMBE. It was a move in the right direction for me, but it felt incomplete. It didn't have any rules for tactical combat, which I didn't like so much. It was hard to visualize without that bit of aid. FATE (DFRPG specifically, though I want to try others out, too) is quite wonderful. The way aspects twist play and narrative up into a single unit is so elegant it blew my mind when I first read it. Plus zones. Despite my earlier wargame comment, I feel lost without a box or hex or something to tell me where everyone is.

And I like the ladder. I know it confuses a lot of people, which seems a bit strange to me considering you need at least two calculus credits to finish a D&D character sheet. xD

I voted GURPS, but to be fair I don't have much experience playing many other generic systems. I like the verisimilitude GURPS offers. To me, ordinary humans and normal gear in GURPS feel much more "real-world" than any other system I've looked at. I feel makes it easier to add on the magic/supers/sci-fi gadget/psionics/etc. to, and still maintain a logical world with suspension of disbelief. It also provides a great, easy to grasp "base-line" to start from when mixing genres and word-building. GURPS doesn't do every single genre better than every other games (most say HERO does supers better, for example). But in total I think does any particular genre well enough, and it does universal better than any other game. That makes it the best choice for genre mash-ups.

That, and all the skills... delicious, crunchy skills!

Besides that, I've been playing and collecting GURPS books since the 90s, and have an entire shelf of them, and I know the rules well enough that its easier (and cheaper) for me to port any particular setting into GURPS than to buy and learn a new system.

Stealing from and paraphrasing from memory William H. Stoddard, he uses GURPS to create a game that feels like physical people in a physical world, BESM to create a visual world where the focus is on what things look like, and FUDGE for a game with a narrative logic and focus.

I'm a Savage Worlds fan, at least as far as universal systems go. The rules are simple and generally stay out of the way when playing, leaving the players free to be creative with their actions. Combat has a decent amount of tactics in it, and the feel of a mini's game which keeps it lighthearted and fun. With the tokens the players get to bend the rules you can really get that cinematic feel during the sessions when the players use them effectively.

The only other universal systems I've played are D20 and BRP, so I'm not sure how much my vote counts.

Voted Fudge/Fate as I'm fan of the Strands of fate system, my go-to system now in fact.

Cheers

Last edited by Tonpa; 01-03-2012 at 05:51 AM.

"Yes, I'm a Strands of Fate fan. I seem to like everything about it. Keep this in mind; what I say is my personal opinion and preference." -TonpaPlaying Dresden Files, Dnd 4e, Running: Superheroes with Strands of FatePlaytesting PM me if you need playtester for your Fate -based game